


Dark Matter

by HomuraBakura



Series: Halloween Specials [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Halloween, Outer Space, Panic Attacks, post-season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-31
Updated: 2014-11-02
Packaged: 2018-12-21 11:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11943513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomuraBakura/pseuds/HomuraBakura
Summary: [Imported from Fanfiction.Net]Shortly after the final battle with Yubel, Halloween comes to Duel Academia. Tyranno wants to play this cool game he found in the school basement with everyone at the spooky abandoned dorm, but Shou isn't certain that's a good idea. When the game turns dangerous, the group of friends will have to reforge bonds strained in Dark World to get home alive.





	1. Turn Zero

**Author's Note:**

> Here's another one of my Halloween fics that i'm moving onto Ao3! I think this is the last one that was only on FF.Net and not Ao3, so I won't spam the updates anymore haha XD
> 
> It's not even halloween but have a spoopy one~

Technically speaking, Halloween wasn't a particularly impressive holiday in Japan. It didn't have the necessary background of black magic and cackling witches sitting around a cauldron to make it popular.

At Duel Academia, however, it was a slightly different story.

“Geez, you'd think we were at an anime convention,” Shou sighed.

“Don't pretend like you're not enjoying it, senpai,” Kenzan teased him, noting the way Shou blushed and watched a girl dressed as the Dark Magician Girl scurry past to join her friends.

Shou glowered at him.

It was a cold evening, the sun setting even as they walked among the trees. Shou could see the glimmer of bonfires somewhere off in the forest. He was under the impression that a few large groups were having scary story marathons. There was another group that was hosting a special Fiend and Zombie only tournament, and he could hear the whirr of Solid Vision and some shouting and cheering.

Kenzan himself was enjoying the holiday far too much, in Shou's opinion. He had somehow found a Kenzansaurus rex costume and had spent much of the morning running around with the big hood over his face, jumping out and roaring at people as they passed. He had even gotten Professor Chronos to run screaming for the teacher's lounge – something that seemed to have gotten to Kenzan's head, as he had been bragging about it for the last few hours.

 _It's not that hard to freak out Chronos-sensei,_ Shou thought with a roll of his eyes.

“This is a bad idea,” Shou said. “I hate this holiday.”

“Oh come off it, senpai,” Kenzan said. “It's not like I'm asking ya to do a séance with me.”

“Although I'm sure you considered it,” Shou said.

Kenzan's grin was the only thing he needed to confirm that.

“Still, why can't we play the game back at the dorm?” Shou said. He was not liking the look of the shadows growing and deepening in the woods, and he was already on edge from that scary movie Kenzan and Rei had strongarmed him into watching earlier. “We can even go back and watch more scary movies, Kenzan. Please?”

“Are you chicken?” Kenzan said, grinning.

Shou felt his face flush.

“I'm not – I just don't think the old dorm is really a good place to be hanging out! Especially on a night like this!”

“We're just gonna play a simple board game,” Kenzan said, bonking him on the head with the game he had been carrying under his arm. “Geez, you're such a scaredy cat! What's gonna happen, huh?”

Shou could think of a large number of things that could happen at the old abandoned dorm, but there were so many of them that he wasn't sure which to bring up first. How about the guy that had gotten eaten by shadows there during his first year? Or the fact that all the students had just disappeared without a trace and there didn't seem to be even the slightest interest in finding them? What about the strange noises that he kept hearing every time he walked past it lately, the windy sounds that sounded vaguely like someone whispering “darkness” over and over again? The bad feeling that came with it? Where did he begin with that old place?

“It's Halloween! We gotta do something just a little spooky,” Kenzan said, adjusting his dinosaur hood. “So don't chicken out on me!”

Shou groaned, and kept walking with Kenzan. If only to make sure nothing happened to him, he said to himself. He was supposed to be the senpai, anyway.

The trees thinned slightly, and the old dorm loomed up above them. The dark windows, partially boarded up, seemed to yawn at them like eye sockets. By now the sun had completely disappeared behind the tree line and the only light came from the stars and the now faraway group bonfires. Shou was starting to wish he had agreed to go listen to scary stories instead. Shou felt a deep shudder run through him.

 _This is a terrible, terrible idea_ , he thought. _Haven't we gotten ourselves in enough trouble this year? It's only been a few months since we got back from the other dimension..._

“Let's go! I bet Rei's already waiting,” Kenzan said, clapping Shou on the back.

“You invited Rei, too??”

Now this would be worse – Rei had evidently found that she loved this holiday after it was explained to her by Kenzan, and had started off a long chain of spooky pranks all month that Shou had ended up as the butt of about sixty percent of the time. He still had not figured out how to dismantle the Solid Vision projector she had rigged to his mirror that made it look like a bloody woman was trying to claw her way out of it. He had had to resort to just putting a cloth over it until he could get someone to help him get rid of it.

He sighed, by now resigned to his fate of getting pranked all night.

“Okay, fine,” he said. “Who else did you invite?”

“Um...Asuka-senpai, Fubuki-san, and Manjoume,” Kenzan said. “I'm not sure if they're gonna come though...”

He trailed off.

“Ah!” he said, eyes widened. “Aniki? What are you doing here?”

Shou jumped and did a double-take.

Judai had just appeared through the trees, his bright red jacket unmistakable. He blinked with surprise at their greeting.

“Kenzan? Shou?” he said. “I should be asking you that.”

Judai hadn't left his dorm in weeks. He had one or two scattered appearances in classes, but always snuck in late, sat in the very back, and seemed to disappear before class was over. He never answered when Shou knocked. Shou couldn't remember the last time they had been standing like this face to face.

They stood in a rather awkward silence for a few moments.

“Um...” Kenzan said. “So...what's up?”

Judai seemed to come out of a daze.

“Ah, sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just went for a walk. What about you guys?”

“We were gonna play a game,” Kenzan said, holding up the game.

“Out here?” Judai said.

He squinted at it in the dark.

“Kenzan....that's not a ouija board, is it?”

“I wish,” Kenzan said. “Asuka-senpai said no way.”

Judai half smiled at that.

“Good for her. Don't mess with those things. Especially not around here,” he said.

He glanced up at the dorm and the tiny smile disappeared. He looked so much older, and Shou wasn't sure if it was a good thing yet.

“This isn't really a good place to hang out at night, you know,” he said.

“It's just an old dorm building,” Kenzan said. “What, are there ghosts or something?”

Judai seemed to bite his lip for a moment, as though he were listening to something.

“...don't think so. At least, I don't sense anything. Still, why out here?”

“It's Halloween,” Shou said. “Kenzan really wants to do something spooky.”

“Oh. Right. Halloween,” Judai said, nodding vaguely.

Something told Shou that Judai had forgotten what day it was – he wondered if Judai had looked at a calendar at all in the last few weeks.

“Um, did you want to play too?” he asked impulsively.

Judai blinked in surprise.

“I mean, we haven't hung out in a while,” Shou said quickly. “Um...never mind, I mean, if you don't want to, that's okay...just...I mean we really haven't seen much of you....”

Kenzan and Judai were both looking down at him with a bit of surprise, and Shou looked down at the ground quickly. A cold wind blew between them.

“...sure. Okay.”

Shou snapped his head back up. Judai had a hesitant smile.

“You're...you're right, I really haven't....” he said. “Yeah. Okay. Sounds like fun.”

Shou felt a warmth flush through his chest. A broad smile grew across his face before he realized he was doing it.

“Awesome!” Kenzan said. “This'll be great! Let's go!”

They began the walk up to the dorm doors.

“What's the game, anyway?” Judai asked.

“Dunno, never played it before. Board looks pretty cool though. I found it in the basement of the school when I got that detention cleaning up down there. Chronos-sensei didn't know what it was, said I could borrow it.”

He handed it off to Judai, who glanced at the cover.

“'Zathura',” he read. “'A space adventure.' Huh.”

The door to the dorm snapped open.

“Boo!”

Something huge and white jumped through the door. Shou squeaked and fell over. He flushed with embarrassment when he heard Rei's shrieking giggle.

“Geez, Rei-chan,” he heard Asuka say somewhere above him. “You're impossible.”

“You okay?” Kenzan asked Shou, grinning like a maniac.

Shou glowered at him and ignored the hand he extended to him, standing up by himself. Rei pulled her veil down, smiling hugely.

“You are so easy to scare, Shou-kun!” she said.

“Shut up,” Shou muttered. “What are you even supposed to be?”

Rei was dressed in a long white dress and veil, which she had pulled down from her face.

“Duh, I'm an _onryo_ ,” she said, twirling. “Careful, or I'll exact my vengeance on you!”

She wiggled her fingers at Shou. Shou just rolled his eyes. Asuka, who was standing next to Rei, copied the gesture. It was at that moment Rei noticed Judai standing there. She squealed and practically threw herself at him.

“Judai-kun! I didn't know you were going to be here!”

Judai almost flinched at her sudden hug, and didn't seem to know whether to return the gesture.

“Uh, yeah...” he said, kind of smiling and grimacing at the same time awkwardly. “Nice to see you, Rei-chan.”

Asuka blinked with surprise. Then a smile grew across her face.

“Oh, Judai, hello,” she said.

Judai's awkward smile turned a little more real, but it was still incredibly awkward.

“This is going to be great!” Rei squealed. “You brought the game?”

“Yep,” Kenzan said, holding it up. “Is Manjoume and Fubuki here?”

“Nii-san's not going to come,” Asuka said. “I saw him at one of the bonfires with his ukele and an extraordinary number of girls. Besides, I don't want him coming here anyway. The last thing he needs is another panic attack. You should have thought about that, Kenzan – you know what this dorm is like for him.”

Kenzan winced.

“I...forgot. I'm sorry.”

Asuka sighed.

“Well, you weren't here the first year of classes, so...whatever,” she said, waving her hand. “Yeah, Manjoume's inside. Ed's here too.”

“Ed?? Really?” Shou said.

As though he had heard them, Ed's distinctive suited figure appeared behind the two girls.

“Why do you sound so surprised?” he said.

“This just doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'd be interested in,” Shou said.

Ed shrugged.

“Well, I'm not going to be able to sleep what with everyone having their little illegal drinking party on the docks,” he said, irritation spiking his voice, “and I'm bored. Talked to Asuka and thought I'd tag along.”

He glanced up to see Judai.

“Oh, hello there. Long time no see.”

Judai nodded, but didn't say anything.

“Is everyone just going to leave me? I see how it is!”

Manjoume appeared in the doorway, face flushed.

“What, were you scared by yourself?” Ed asked, with a grin.

“Shut up, Ed,” Manjoume said. “I'm not afraid of the dark! Black is my color, remember??”

His red face was telling a different story, and Shou had to smother a giggle.

“Are we going to do this, or what?” Manjoume asked.

“Yeah, let's get this started,” Kenzan said. “We can set up in the front community room.”

They started trickling in through the door. Shou somehow got to the back of the group and ended up walking in next to Judai. That little half smile of his seemed kind of plastered on, and he was looking a bit uncertain. Hesitant and nervous. It was so different from the Judai that Shou remembered. The old Judai would have been charging in, taking command of the group, probably dragging people around to explore the spooky dorm in the middle of the night. He would have been so vibrant before. Now he was just so hesitant, as though he weren't sure he was allowed to be a part of the group.

“Um...aniki....thanks,” he said. “I know you....um...just thanks. For hanging out with us again.”

Judai looked down at him, blinking a few times. Then he smiled – it was a small smile, but it was perhaps the most real one Shou had seen out of him all evening.

“Hey, you, don't give me a sad face,” he said, punching him lightly on the shoulder. “It doesn't suit you, Obelisk's ace student.”

Shou blushed.

“I'm not their ace student....”

Judai laughed very softly. Shou felt his own smile coming on. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

 


	2. Turn One

“Whoa, nice!”

The group had made themselves at home in the common room. Despite being abandoned for a while, the furniture was still in pretty good shape in this room. The lights still worked too (to Kenzan's disappointment and Manjoume's evident relief). Manjoume had claimed a space on the couch (suspiciously close to Asuka), Ed had taken one of the armchairs that wasn't falling apart, and Kenzan was laying on his stomach across the floor, examining the board he had just taken out of the box. Shou sat across from him, and Judai himself had found a place leaning against one of the older armchairs. Rei immediately plopped down next to him and leaned against him. He tried to smile at her, but he felt horrible about it. He understood Rei liked him (for some reason), but it wasn't like he deserved that kind of affection from her. It was just as well that she hadn't come with to Dark World. She still didn't...really know what had happened there.

“This board is awesome,” Kenzan said. “Look at it! It's pretty old, but it's like mechanized and everything.”

“Don't you think we should read the instructions first?” Shou said.

“Nah, instructions are for wimps,” Kenzan said.

Shou rolled his eyes at him and reached for the box, turning the top over so he could read the instructions.

“There are only two pieces, Kenzan,” Manjoume said sourly. “This is dumb. Board games don't even have any real strategy to them.”

“You didn't have to come, and you don't have to stay,” Kenzan said.

“Yes, you can walk back to the dormitory from here, in the dark,” Ed said, sounding surprisingly mischievous.

Manjoume glowered at him, but didn't respond.

“Well, we should probably just make teams, then,” Asuka said. “Two pieces, two teams.”

“It's not even,” Ed observed.

“That's okay. It's not like you can have an advantage at a board game,” Asuka said, shrugging.

“I'm on Judai's team!” Rei said, grabbing his arm.

“Since I'm over here already, I'll be on your team, Tenjoin-kun,” Manjoume said, brightening.

 _Should've known that's why you were here_ , Judai thought, actually feeling a little bit of a chuckle coming on.

“Okay, so then it'll work out,” Kenzan said. “I'm already on this side of the board so....Asuka-san, Manjoume, Ed, and me on one team, and then senpai, aniki, and Rei on the other. Sound good?”

“Sure,” Judai said, shrugging.

“Awesome! Now who goes first?” Kenzan said.

“Rock paper scissors,” Shou said, holding his hand out over the board.

Shou won.

“Awww, best two out of three?” Kenzan said.

“No way,” Shou said. “Besides, I read the instructions, so I know how to play!”

He turned the board around to face him. It really was a pretty interesting board. It was three dimensional, with two little spaceships attached to a track. Judai relaxed a bit, despite his surroundings. He didn't trust this dorm at all, but he didn't sense anything dangerous. Besides, it was kind of nice to be with his friends again. And he loved space, space travel, all this kind of stuff. Somewhere in him, his much younger self was really excited. He was about ready to let that part of him come out for a little while, he thought. There wasn't a need to be on edge tonight, even if it was Halloween. Shou turned the key on the side and pushed the button.

Judai saw the numbers on the side whir like the slots on a slot machine. They stopped on the number 5, making the side read “5,000 light years.” Judai had to smile at that. Clever gimmick.

The board started to whir too, and then the little spaceship piece was moving all on its own, pulled along the track five spaces.

_Ding!_

A card popped out of the side. Kenzan jumped, but Shou seemed to have expected it. The smaller boy pulled the card free and adjusted his glasses, looking down at it.

“'Navigation systems fail. Accidentally directed into asteroid belt,'” he read.

Kenzan grinned.

“Aww, look at what you did to your team,” he said. “Gotta check your navigation systems before takeoff!”

Shou rolled his eyes.

“So what? You have to move back spaces or anything?” Manjoume said.

“No, that's all it says,” Shou said. “Just flavor text, I guess. Make the game sound more interesting.”

“Huh,” Kenzan said.

He spun the board back around towards him.

“Okay, my turn!”

_**BOOM.** _

A massive impact rumbled through the dorm. It jarred Judai's spine. Rei squeaked. Her arms wrapped tighter around his. He instinctively put a hand on hers.

Silence followed. Kenzan stared at the ceiling, hand poised over the key.

“What...” he said.

_**BOOM.** _

This time everything tilted. Judai heard someone scream – he wasn't sure who – he reached out and grabbed Rei around the shoulders. The whole dorm was tilting! It was spinning! Like it was floating through space and had just knocked against something –

_BOOM BOOM BOOM_

A bunch of smaller impacts rocked the room. Rei screamed again as she and Judai went sliding across the floor. He threw his arms fully around her and tightened inwards, trying to keep himself in between her and their inevitable strike against the wall.

He heard the couch smash against the opposite wall.

“Tenjoin-kun!” Manjoume shouted.

Shou had rolled across the floor and was looking up dizzily from right next to Judai.

“Where are my glasses?” he said, patting around.

“Shou! Look out!” Ed shouted.

Something huge crashed through the window. It took part of the wall along with it. It was headed right for Shou!

Judai shouted, but there was no getting up in time. He saw Ed streak across the room, throwing himself on top of Shou. They just barely ducked under the sweep of the giant thing. It hit the opposite wall and tore right through. Was that...

Judai scrambled to his knees. Rei was trembling, and he held her as tightly as he could. Over her head, he could see through the hole that had been made by the giant thing –

“ _Shit_.”

He could see stars. No trees. No faraway bonfires. No, real actual stars, and they looked closer than he remembered. He could see the tracings of various colors, like frozen auroras – galaxies??

A huge grayish pockmarked thing shifted past the opening, blocking his view. Yeah. That was definitely an asteroid.

“Everyone stay _down_!” Judai shouted. “ _Stay down_! We are going through a real asteroid belt!”

Manjoume was on the other side of the room, clinging to Asuka's wrists as she gripped the couch, her eyes so wide that he could see the whites from here. Ed and Shou remained on the ground, not daring to move. Kenzan had slid across the room, his dinosaur hood falling into his eyes. He was gripping the gameboard like it was a lifeline – and the more Judai thought about it, the more he was sure it was.

“Just hang on! Just hang on! I think we're almost through!”

Another wrenching impact rippled through the building. Rei screamed again. Kenzan slid dangerously close to the hole in the wall. And then the asteroids in his view vanished. The shuddering started to subside.

It was a long, long time before anyone started moving.

Kenzan was the first to shift onto his knees, still holding the board. He pushed the hood from his eyes. He stared down at the game. He looked up at the room.

“I....did the game....did that...”

Ed picked himself up. He found Shou's glasses a few feet away and retrieved them before helping Shou up to a sitting position. Manjoume helped Asuka to her feet. Her knees were shaking. Rei clung to Judai's shirt, and he had to coax her for almost a minute before she let go so he could stand up.

He took quick steps over to the hole in the wall. It was massive, big enough to fit a hefty door frame. He leaned one hand against the side of the wall.

“Shit,” he said again.

He was staring out at a vast universe with no end, no planet in sight. At the back of his mind, he thought it was incredibly gorgeous, but at the forefront of his mind was _how_ and _what the hell_.

He leaned his head out just a fraction, looking back the way they had come. He could see the asteroids twirling through space just about twenty feet back. The other way next. Nothing he could see in that direction. Just space. He should check the view from the other windows and doors.

“What the hell happened?” Manjoume said. “Where are we? What was that?”

“We went through a real asteroid belt,” Judai said. “If I had to take a guess, we are somehow actually five thousand light years away from earth.”

“That's impossible,” Ed said. “Not only is travel at that speed impossible, we would have noticed a takeoff like that!”

Judai glanced down at the gameboard still in Kenzan's hands.

“Can I see that?” he said.

Kenzan nodded, handing it up. Judai stared at the board. He turned it over several times in his hands, running his fingers down and around it.

_I don't get it. I don't sense anything from it._

He heard Yubel stir at the back of his head.

“ _What do you make of it?”_ he asked.

“ _...it's tricky, if it is magic. I can't sense anything from it either except for some ghost signatures of magic,”_ Yubel said, her voice echoing in his mind.

It was the same conclusion he had come up with.

“Dammit,” he murmured. “This game is real.”

Rei let off a quiet, choked sob. Silence followed.

“I...I'm sorry.....”

Everyone looked up. It was Shou who had spoken. He was still sitting. He shook so hard that it was a wonder his glasses were staying on his face.

“What are you sorry for?” Judai said.

“I – I rolled that – I spun us into an asteroid belt and –”

“Shut up, Shou!” Kenzan said. “You have nothing to be sorry about! If anybody should be sorry, it's me! I made you play this stupid game! I'm the one that brought it up here!”

“No, stop it,” Judai said. “This isn't either of your faults!”

Kenzan ducked his head. His fists were shaking. He looked terrified.

“No, if anyone should be sorry, it's me,” Judai said, clenching his free hand into a fist. “I'm the one that knows about this kind of stuff. I should have examined the game better.”

“Exactly why would you have thought to do that?” Ed said. “Don't you dare blame yourself, Judai Yuki. That's not going to get us out of this.”

“Ed's right,” Asuka said, sounding remarkably calm. “Freaking out won't help. No one could have known what was going to happen. Judai, there was no reason for you to think the board game was dangerous, so there was no reason for you to check it. Kenzan, same goes to you. It just looks like a board game. And Shou, you can't have controlled what you landed on.”

Shou was still shaking really, really badly. Judai's fist clenched harder. _Dammit_. This wasn't fair. He had just wanted to play a game with his friends. He had thought that things were going to be okay for once. Hadn't they had enough already? Hadn't his friends suffered enough?

“Okay,” Judai said. “Let's...let's get away from this hole. Move to an inner room.”

Everyone agreed silently.

Asuka gently took the board away from Judai – it was probably the right course of action because all he wanted to do was throw it through the hole, and that was definitely not a good idea. Kenzan awkwardly helped Rei to her feet and guided her after Asuka. The girl's dress had torn, and she couldn't stop shaking. Manjoume and Ed followed. Judai reached out a hand to Shou.

“It's going to be okay,” he said, although the words felt hollow. “We're going to get through this.”

Shou looked up at him bleakly.

“How can you, of all people, be sure about that?”

He got up without taking Judai's hand and disappeared after the others.

It felt like a long time before Judai was able to follow after them.

 


	3. Turn Two

They relocated to one of the old dorm rooms on the first floor. Asuka had considered leading everyone into the basement, thinking it might be more secure down there in case of more asteroids, but ultimately decided against it. If she never had to go down into that horrible place again, all the better.

She placed the board on an old coffee table and waited for the rest of the group to come in. She had settled Rei down on the bed. The younger girl was chewing hard on her lip. Although she had seemed on the verge of hyperventilating before, it looked like she had calmed mostly down. That was good. As it was, Asuka felt like she was going to break down into a sobbing mess at any moment. She couldn't do that, though – she couldn't risk not looking tough. Everyone else was already on edge. Their trip to Dark World weighed heavily on their minds, and this sudden jaunt through worlds was just all too familiar. It was essential that she appear collected so that people wouldn't start blaming themselves – or worse, each other – again.

Ed, Manjoume, and Tyranno filed into the room after her. Tyranno took a seat on the bed next to Rei, patting her shoulder awkwardly. He was shaking a bit too, though, so it might have been to comfort himself as much as her. Ed sat down on the other side of the coffee table from Asuka, and Manjoume took a seat next to Asuka. Shou came in a few moments later, looking hollow eyed. Asuka felt a little part of her heart break. This was too much. Too much too soon.

Shou stared at the board for a minute. Then he turned around and walked over to the wall, where he slid down against the corner.

After another few beats, Judai appeared in the doorway. He hesitated. His eyes flicked across the room – whether he was doing a head count, or searching their expressions, Asuka wasn't sure. It hurt her to see him like this. He had been starting to relax, earlier, she could sense it. And then this happened, and he was on the defensive now, terrified of a repeat of Dark World. She could just tell from his rigid stance and flicking eyes that he was thinking of all the terrible things that could start happening and if he was going to be quick enough to protect them.

She took a deep breath. She had to be strong. For Judai. For everyone. No one could see her cry. Not again.

“I guess it's my team's turn,” she said. “But before I go...are there any thoughts or observations we need to discuss? Shou, what were the instructions?”

Shou shrugged from his corner.

“They were pretty simple,” he said. “Spin. Get a card....”

He hesitated.

“I...I think it said that once we reach the end, Zathura, the pieces are reset.”

“That would mean we go home, right?” Ed said.

“I guess so.”

“Then there's nothing for it,” Judai said from the doorway. He hadn't yet left his position standing on the threshold – it was like he wasn't certain if he was allowed to come in. “We have to keep playing. There's nothing else we can do.”

“What's going to jump out at us next?” Manjoume said. “Meteors? Aliens? Are we going to run out of air in here?”

“Manjoume,” Asuka said sharply.

She had noticed Rei blanching at his words. Manjoume flinched. He looked incredibly guilty about saying those things.

“...sorry. That's not helping,” he said.

“Judai...do you maybe...know anything at all about where we are?” Asuka asked hesitantly. “I mean, is this _our_ galaxy or...another dimension?”

Silence met her question. Judai bit his lip. After a few beats, he sighed.

“I can't be sure,” he said. “But some of this...well, the feeling does kind of remind me of Neo-Space, when I went there during our second year. And the transition...it's seamless and we didn't feel like we were taking off at any speed. It's most likely we fell through a hole in a dimension, and we might be in Neo-Space right now.”

Asuka nodded thoughtfully.

“All right,” she said. “Then let's get this game over with.”

She turned the key, and pushed the button.

The numbers whirred. They stopped on nine.

“Great spin!” Manjoume said. “We'll be home in no time!”

Asuka smiled, but it was forced. What would she land them on?

_Ding!_

The card appeared. Trying to keep the tremble from her fingers, she pulled it free and turned it over.

Her throat grew dry.

“'Stray too close to Planet Nathos' gravity field.'”

There was a brief pause.

And then the whole dorm tilted. Asuka cried out. She flailed her arms as she slid across the floor.

“Tenjoin-kun!” Manjoume shouted, making a grab for her.

But then he was sliding across the floor too. Everything felt so much heavier!! She felt like she was plastered against the wall. Rei screamed as she fell from the bed and was practically pulled towards the wall. With a massive feat of strength, Kenzan grabbed her by the wrist and whipped her in front of him. They both hit the wall and seemed stuck there. Shou had grabbed hold of a hook on the wall but he was hanging from it, his feet dangling sideways towards the increased gravity.

Judai grabbed Ed's collar and braced himself against the doorway.

“Asuka! Manjoume!” he shouted.

The coffee table was sliding towards them. Asuka wanted to scream but her ribs were feeling tighter and tighter. The game clattered off the table. It practically shot forward, plastering itself against the wall right in between Asuka's and Manjoume's heads. With a cry, Manjoume managed to wrench his feet from the floor and catch the sliding table on his foot, holding it mere feet away from them.

Asuka could hardly breathe. Was this it? Was her spin going to kill them all?

Manjoume's face was starting to go red and his foot was trembling. The table must be getting heavier and heavier – how long before he lost control and it crushed both of their ribcages?

Above them, a corner of the ceiling crumbled. Terror shot through her veins as she saw bits of the ceiling being pulled away. She couldn't look behind her, couldn't see the planet that was trying to claim them, but she could feel it's incredible pull.

Manjoume's foot slipped.

The coffee table jerked towards them – Manjoume got his foot back in position.

“What the hell do we do?” he shouted. “ _What the hell do we do?_ ”

Ed was dangling from Judai's grip. Judai's face was red, his arms and legs trembling from where he pushed into the doorframe to hold himself steady. Asuka could see sweat beading on his face. His eyes were wide, just brown dots in pools of white. Asuka had seen that face on him before.

_This is my fault._

In spite of everything, a brief blossom of rage exploded in her chest.

“Judai!” she managed to get out of her thick lungs. _“Judai!”_

She couldn't say anything else, but his eyes flicked to hers. She tried to force all of the words she couldn't force out into her furious gaze.

_Blaming yourself is not going to change this – dammit, Judai! It's not your fault, it's not, and dammit, if you start blaming yourself for it you're not going to be able to see what to do! Stop panicking!_

His eyes flickered. She didn't know if any of her thoughts got through to him, but she saw him swallow thickly.

“Ed, do you trust me?” he said.

“Do what you have to do, Judai!” Ed shouted.

Judai sucked in a harsh breath. With a massive effort, he swung Ed sideways and let go. Ed dropped like a stone, towards the opposite wall, but Judai's swing had made it. He fell against the foot of the bed instead of the crumbling wall. Judai pressed his now free hand against the door frame.

Asuka felt the sweat rolling down her forehead. She could see in her peripherals the wall above her crumbling – she heard the window just above her head shatter.

She was going to fall through. She was going to go spiraling into space and die.

She closed her eyes and waited.

And then hot wind ripped past her, coming from the direction of – Judai??

Her eyes snapped open. In his place in the doorframe, Judai's eyes had turned to brilliant shades – one a glowing orange, the other a glowing green – oh god. Yubel's eyes.

A wordless cry ripped from Judai's throat, and it sounded like there was a second voice behind it.

“ _YOU'RE GOING TO LET GO!”_ he shouted at the planet.

Impact like a sonic boom exploded from Judai's small frame. Asuka screamed as the invisible blast ripped past her. She could almost hear it cutting through the cold of space – but that was impossible, space was silent –

And then suddenly the pressure on her chest snapped. She gasped, jerking forwards. Beside her the game dropped from the wall, falling upside down with a clatter. Manjoume sounded like he choked on air for a second and then he was dropping his leg to the ground. The coffee table stayed put. Kenzan and Rei dropped from the wall and onto the bed with muffled squeaks.

Asuka just sat and breathed for a long, long moment, relishing the feeling of air rushing into her lungs.

“You all right?” Manjoume mumbled.

“Fine,” Asuka said, but her voice sounded weak and fluttery even to herself. “You?”

“My leg's gonna hate me for a while, but I'm okay.”

“Good....and thank you.”

Manjoume shrugged, eyes closed and just breathing, like the rest of them.

“I don't want to play anymore,” Rei mumbled. “I don't want to play anymore.”

“Rei-chan, we don't...we don't have a choice,” Kenzan said, still hugging her. “It's okay. We're gonna make it.”

“We almost didn't!” Rei said, her voice a mixture of rage and terror. “What would have happened if – if Judai hadn't...”

Manjoume's eyes opened. Asuka lifted herself from the wall, too. A brief pause permeated the room after Rei's sentence trailed off, everyone's eyes moving towards Judai.

“What _did_ you do, Judai?” Ed asked.

Judai had sunk to a sitting position in the door frame, his arms on his knees and head down, bangs obscuring his eyes. He was breathing heavily. At Ed's question, he raised a hand to ask for just a second longer. When he had caught his breath, he looked up. His eyes were brown. Normal brown. Just like always. Had Asuka...imagined it...?

“What did you do?” Ed repeated.

Judai shook his head.

“Is it important...?” he asked hesitantly. “I mean, we're all alive...”

“Your eyes got all weird,” Shou said.

“Like Yubel's,” Manjoume said, eyes narrowing.

Judai glanced between all of them. He took a deep breath and sighed, closing his eyes.

“...Yeah,” he mumbled, running a hand over his eyes. “Yubel's here. In my head.”

“She's _what_?”

Manjoume surged to his feet.

“When the hell did you plan on telling us something like that, huh?” he said. “Judai! Look at me, dammit!”

“What did you want me to say? How is that a conversation starter?” Judai shouted back. “'Oh, by the way, fused my soul with that person you probably all hate.' That would have gone over real well, wouldn't it?”

“You –”

Manjoume started to storm around the table, but his leg gave out and he stumbled. Ed stood up and quickly stepped between Manjoume's route to Judai.

“Calm _down_!” Ed said. “Dammit, Manjoume, I know how you feel about Yubel, but think about it for a damn second. Do you think Judai would have done something like that without a good reason? Whatever power he just used just saved our _lives_ , Manjoume!”

Manjoume's face was still red, but he didn't make a move to get up from his knees. He didn't seem...hateful, at all – just frustrated. Angry.

This was getting to all of them, Asuka thought. It was already too much.

Her head spun. Judai's eyes, glowing like Yubel's. Horrible half memories of that dark dimensions she had found herself in after dying. The echo of Yubel's voice in her head, draining her energy every so often until she could barely think. That Yubel. That Yubel was in Judai's head. Why?

She shuddered. She closed her eyes.

It was too much.

It was just too much.

 


	4. Turn Three

They had to move again. That yawning hole along the top edge of the ceiling was too dangerous – besides, no one wanted to be near the memories of that. They found another dorm room, this one without any windows. Rei wasn't sure she liked that. What if something terrible arrived and they had no way of seeing it coming?

She was regretting her choice of attire, too. The long white dress was gorgeous, but it was tripping her up, even though part of it had torn off at the bottom. What if there was a robot or an alien or something they'd have to fight or run away from?

She bit her lip hard. No. No more of that, she told herself. You have to be tough! Just because you're the youngest in the room doesn't mean you have to act like it!

But her heart fluttered anyway.

 _Be like Asuka-san!_ She ordered herself.

The older girl sat straight, with complete poise. She was as elegant as ever, her hazel eyes hard and determined. If she was scared, she didn't show it. Rei wished she could be like that. At the very least, she wished Judai would come over here and sit next to her.

Judai, though, had sat himself in the far corner of the room. He was still isolating himself. What exactly had happened in that other dimension? Why hadn't she been able to go with? Ever since he had gotten back, it was like she didn't know him anymore. She didn't feel like she knew any of them anymore. Shou acted older and quieter, Asuka didn't smile as much, Manjoume simultaneously was calmer and lashed out a little more erratically, Kenzan had found excuses to not hang out with Rei and she had found him just sitting in a corner and staring at the walls.

She hugged herself, rubbing her shoulders.

“You all right?” Ed asked softly.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

Manjoume kept sending half-hearted glowers towards Judai. Judai didn't look up at him to meet the gaze. Who was Yubel, anyway? Rei had heard the name before; Marty had mentioned it. He had seemed terrified when he talked about it – something about a presence that had invaded his mind. Was that what was happening to Judai? He seemed in control of himself. Rei swallowed.

“Our team's turn,” she whispered.

She slid off the bed and reached for the game board, since neither Shou nor Judai showed any sign of moving from their spots. She turned the key and reached for the button. Her throat was dry – what would she spin? What kind of fate would she make?

She pushed the button.

Nothing happened.

“Huh?” she said. “What's wrong?”

Panic surged through her. The game was broken, it had fallen after the gravity let go of it and it was broken, they were going to be stuck –

After a terrifying silence in which everyone stared at each other, Shou reached out and hit the button.

Instantly, the numbers started whirring.

“How...?” Rei started.

“I guess it remembers who hit the button,” Shou said dully. “It can only recognize two players. So Asuka and me have to spin each turn.”

Rei nodded slowly.

A terrible thought occurred to her. What if something happened to either Shou or Asuka? What if they weren't able to hit the button, and they were stuck out here?

The numbers stopped on six. The ship moved across the track. _Ding!_

With shaking fingers, Rei pulled out the card.

Relief flooded through her head like she had just been doused in water.

“'Promoted to fleet captain. Move forward three spaces.'”

She could almost feel the sigh that permeated through the room. The ship moved forward another three spaces. Her spirits lightened considerably – they were already halfway across the board!

“Nice spin, Rei-chan,” Kenzan said, patting her shoulder.

Rei smiled. But then she swallowed and her mood dropped again. There was still a good amount of board to go. And both sides had to take a turn. What else would they run into while they were here?

“Tenjoin-kun, your move,” Manjoume said.

Asuka nodded. She turned the board to herself and turned the key. _Whirr, whirr, whirr, ding!_

Asuka hesitated, fingers hovering over the card.

“What if we just didn't read it?” she said. “What if we just keep spinning as quick as we can until we get there? Maybe the thing doesn't happen until we read the card – or maybe we can move fast enough to avoid whatever comes...”

The idea sounded like a fantastic one to Rei.

And then a strange, tingly feeling came over her. She felt dizzy. Her mouth was getting dry.

“Um, guys...?” she started.

And then a screech cut through her head. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. She felt like she was looking at things from a long tunnel. Her body was moving by itself.

“Rei! _Rei_!”

“Rei, let him go! You're gonna strangle him!”

“What happened? What's happened to her??”

As though in a dream, she felt hands yanking her backwards by her shoulders. Her hands scrabbled for something, she didn't know what.

“Read the card! Read the card! We have to know what happened!”

She could hear Asuka's shaking voice.

“All it says is 'alien stowaway'! That's all it says!”

“Shit! Rei, Rei, can you hear me?”

“What the hell?”

“Did it turn her _into_ an alien?”

“Rei! Please, please, can you hear me?”

_Help me, help me, help me!_

It was scratching on the inside of her head. It was clawing at her from the inside – her heart was going to burst!

A strangled cry that wasn't her own exploded from her throat. It twisted her vocal cords in ways that didn't make sense and pain flared all down her spine. With strength that wasn't hers, she ripped free of the hands that were holding her. She bolted for the door.

“Rei!”

“Rei-chan!”

She charged into the dark hallway. It was like she was a passenger in her own body. The thing in her head forced her down onto her hands, loping along like some kind of awkward animal. She headed down into the darkness.

_Let go, let go, let go, let go me! I don't want to do this!_

She could hear footsteps pounding behind her. The thing that controlled her turned her eyes over her shoulder. She saw Kenzan charging after her. A snarl contorted her face and she darted into a hallway. Down that hallway she found a set of stairs. She headed down them. The air grew colder, damper. Somewhere at the back of her head she was paying attention to the creepy surroundings – the stone floor, the strange carved design across it that looked like little rivets for water to flow through, the raised dais around the carving.

“Rei! Rei, please!”

Rei tried. She really tried. For a split second, she pushed herself back into control. She gasped for breath, stumbling. And then the fuzz fell over her brain again and the thing hissed with her mouth. She wanted to cry.

_Please, someone help me!_

“Rei!”

She turned. Kenzan and Manjoume had reached the raised dais, looking down at her. She hissed at them. Manjoume leapt down from the dais. He landed softly. Slowly, he moved forward, his hands up.

“Rei,” he said. “Hey. Calm down. It's okay. Okay?”

Rei backed up, still hissing.

“Manjoume, careful,” Kenzan called.

“Hey,” Manjoume said, voice low and calm. “It's okay, Rei. You wanna come back upstairs? We have to finish the game.”

_Help, help, help, please, I can't do anything, please help!_

He came about an arm's length from her.

She lunged at him.

He seemed to have expected the motion, because he sidestepped her and she stumbled. He practically fell on her. All the air rushed from her lungs as he pinned her to the ground.

“Manjoume! Careful, you'll hurt her!”

“She's going to hurt _herself_ at this rate!”

Rei screeched at them, struggling under Manjoume's weight, but she was too small. She could see Kenzan's feet jogging up to them. She heard the voices of the others coming down the stairs.

“What happened? Is she okay?”

“No, she's still fighting me! Oof! Keep back, Kenzan, we don't know what she's gonna do.”

“She's probably terrified, Manjoume! She's like possessed or something!”

Kenzan's face appeared in her vision as he knelt down. His eyes were wide and there was cold sweat beading on his brow.

“Rei,” he said. “Please, Rei, are you in there?”

The thing in her head screeched, the sound grating through her mind. She wasn't sure if she made the sound in real life. She gasped. The thing in her head was staring at Kenzan, noting his much broader frame and stronger arms. And then she felt the buzz in her head starting to lift off of her, felt as though something was pulling away from her, sneaking like a shadow across the ground towards Kenzan.

“ _NO!”_ she screamed, and this time the word actually got out.

With a massive effort, she wrenched the thing back into her own head. It screeched at her. The sound ripped from her own throat. She felt herself convulsing.

_Kenzan, Manjoume, run, run, run!_

Her flailing arm took Manjoume in the jaw. He gasped. The pressure on her back lifted – just enough for the strength of the creature in her head to take over and launch him off. Kenzan fell backwards onto his back. Rei surged to her feet. She felt like she was trying to hold onto molasses. The thing in her head was slippery, and it wanted out of her – she was too tiny, too weak, it wanted one of the boys – but she wasn't going to let it have them.

“Get away!” she managed to choke out. “Get away! The thing is trying to get you –”

And then her throat closed up again and instead a horrible shriek spluttered out. She lunged for Kenzan as he scrambled to his feet. Her tiny hands latched onto his throat. He grabbed her thumbs and and yanked her off, grabbing on to her wrists and holding her.

_No, no, no, you have to let go or it will switch to you!_

She ripped herself free and stumbled away from Kenzan. But the thing in her head wasn't giving him. It dropped into a crouch, her hands wrapping around a shard of stone on the floor. If it couldn't take the mind of someone else, it was thinking, it would just have to kill everything.

_NO!_

She tried to hold herself backwards so she wouldn't lunge at Kenzan, or Manjoume, or Ed, who had just leapt down into the basement hollow, or Judai or Asuka who had appeared in the doorway, or Shou who was running down the stairs along the side of the dais.

But she miscalculated. The thing wasn't trying to stab someone else with the rock shard.

It was trying to kill her.

Her own hand drove the rock shard up towards her stomach. If the girl was dead, it thought, it could easily leave the body and find a new one.

“REI!”

Something crashed into her before she could stab herself. She screamed – her own scream. Kenzan was on top of her, fighting with her hands as she kept trying to stab herself with the rock shard.

“Stop it! Stop it! Leave her alone!” Kenzan shouted.

It screeched through her throat. Then Kenzan's hand slipped – and Rei drove the shard up below his ribs. His eyes widened. He drew in a sharp breath.

_NOOO!_

Blood dripped onto Rei's white dress, staining it pink. The shock of the attack froze Kenzan for a moment, letting the thing holding onto Rei shove him off of her. She rolled on top of him instead, hands wrapped around his throat and squeezing. He slapped at her hands, but the shard was still shoved into his side and he wasn't able to focus enough on his own strikes.

_Kenzan – KENZAN!_

And then a second presence exploded in the back of her mind.

She shrieked – a mixture of her own and the thing's. Her hands flew up to clap against her temples. Her body arched and convulsed.

“ _Get the hell out of there, you filthy scum,”_ a harsh voice echoed in Rei's head.

Rei felt the thing try and skitter away. In a rush, it fell out of her head. She gasped, momentarily blinded – had she been seeing things so darkly all this time? Vaguely, she saw something like a shadow slithering across the floor. And then Judai's shoe came down hard on the shadow, and she saw his eyes glowing orange and green, and the thing dissolved with another echoing shriek.

Rei fell over, rolling off of Kenzan. She could hardly breathe. She was so dizzy.

“Kenzan,” she murmured, trying to push herself up.

That other presence in her head seemed to tap her back down.

“ _Don't move for a second. You'll just throw up. That thing had you for a while.”_

The voice seemed to shift between a woman's and a man's. It was odd, but not discomforting.

“ _Who...are you...?”_

“ _I'm Yubel. I think you might have heard of me – don't think we've actually met, though.”_

The voice paused.

“ _You're a tough one,”_ Yubel said, the voice sounding almost admiring. _“You kept it trapped in your head so it wouldn't go after anyone else. That's not an easy thing to do.”_

“ _What...what was it?”_

“ _Phantasm,”_ Yubel said, and now the voice twisted with disgust. _“Filthy creatures from the Barian World. They don't have a shape so they steal other people's bodies.”_

Rei swallowed through a dry throat.

“ _You saved me...thank you...”_

Rei felt Yubel's presence shift, almost with surprise.

“ _....you're...welcome....”_ she said slowly, as though she weren't used to be thanked.

Rei closed her eyes as Yubel's presence drew back away from her. Whoever this Yubel was, and for whatever reason Manjoume and the others seemed uncertain about her....Rei liked her.

“Ken...zan...” she murmured.

She felt his hand flop onto hers from beside her. She managed to turn her head towards him. Judai and Ed were on the other side of him, carefully extracting the stone shard. Kenzan winced, but he tried to grin at her anyway.

“Hey. Glad you're back,” he said.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered.

He shrugged slightly, but the motion made him wince.

“Not your fault,” he said.

She gripped his hand and closed her eyes.

How much longer was this game going to continue?

 


	5. Turn Four

Manjoume pushed open the door to the infirmary. They lucked out – everything here was in good condition and it looked like there was even still a first aid kit.

He pushed the door open all the way and held it open. Asuka supported Rei as they walked, and Ed and Judai had gotten Kenzan's arms over their shoulders, helping him along. Both of them were weak, but not in any serious danger – thank God.

Manjoume retreated back against the wall while the other settled Kenzan and Rei on a bed. Asuka went for the first aid kit and started wiping that antibacterial stuff on Kenzan's wound.

“Tch tch tch! That stings!” Kenzan said, flinching slightly.

“It'll sting more if it gets infected,” Asuka scolded him. “Hold still.”

“You okay, Rei-chan?” Judai asked.

“We should probably check you for shock,” Ed said.

“I'm okay, I'm okay,” Rei said, but her voice was a few octaves too high and wheezy. Manjoume's hands curled into fists. This was cruel. Who would make a game like this?

Shou appeared through the door, the game under his arm. Manjoume longed to set it on fire – but he could do that once they got home safely, he promised himself.

“Is everyone okay?” Shou asked.

Manjoume nodded.

“For the most part. We got lucky. If that thing had possessed Kenzan – or worse, Judai – we might all be dead.”

Shou shook his head.

“I don't think it could have gotten Judai,” Shou said. “I mean...he's already got one thing in his head...I don't think Yubel would want to share.”

It was a weak attempt at a joke and neither of them laughed. Manjoume folded his arms. He narrowed his eyes at Judai. Judai wasn't looking at him, busy checking Rei's temperature. The thing was, Manjoume couldn't bring himself to be angry with Judai. He felt like Judai had been through enough. He _knew_ Judai had been through enough. He had stayed in the Osiris Dorm for long enough to know how terrible Judai's dreams were, to have been woken up by the screaming from a night terror in the middle of the night.

It was Yubel that made Manjoume uneasy.

He felt like he could almost sense her eyes on him – or was she looking at him at all? Was he just being paranoid? He shuddered to remember that strange dark dimension she had thrown them in in her attempt to hurt Judai. Why would Judai have ever fused himself with her? What did he know about her that Manjoume was missing?

He glanced down at Shou. The shorter's boy's hands were shaking where they gripped the board.

“You okay?” Manjoume muttered.

Shou just nodded, although they knew it was a lie.

“Hey. We're gonna make it. We've gotten this far, right?” Manjoume said.

“I hope so,” Shou said. “We still have half the game to get through.”

Manjoume gripped Shou's shoulder.

“Hey. Really. We can't start giving up now.”

Shou half smiled, tentatively.

“R-right,” he said.

He hesitated.

“Manjoume-kun...what do you think about...Yubel being here?”

His voice was low, so as not to attract Judai's attention. Manjoume hesitated.

“Well...I don't really like it,” he said. “It's kind of creepy – what does it mean, anyway, that he has her in his head? What's she doing there and how? And why? There's so much about his last fight that we don't know.”

“And he won't talk to us,” Shou said quietly. “I know...that the things he did...they hurt him, but...I just wish...I could do something...”

He tightened his grip on the board game. Manjoume sighed. He nudged Shou with his shoulder.

“Stop it. It's not your fault. Whatever...whatever's bothering Judai, we can't force him to talk to us. Something like that...he's gotta decide if he wants to come to us.”

Shou nodded, but he still looked uncertain. Manjoume didn't blame him – he himself was just as uncertain.

“Okay,” Judai said finally, straightening up. “You guys feel up to taking the next turn?”

“I liked Asuka-senpai's idea,” Rei said, still sounding a bit dizzy.

“What if we get swarmed by a bunch of things at once, though?” Ed pointed out.

Asuka frowned, as though that just occurred to her.

“But if we're fast enough,” Rei insisted. “If Asuka-senpai and Shou-kun just spin rapid fire after each other, we'll be at the end of the game really fast! There's only about twenty spaces left for both of us!”

“It sounds risky,” Judai said.

“Everything about this is risky,” Manjoume said.

Judai nodded in agreement of this point.

He glanced around the room, looking hesitant.

“Well...we're in this as a group. I guess we should take a vote, right? Everyone who wants to try the quick turn idea, raise your hands.”

Rei's hand shot up. After a few beats, Asuka's and Kenzan's went up too. Manjoume glanced down at Shou. He hesitated, and then the shorter boy also raised his hand. Manjoume didn't move his own hand. He didn't like the idea – what if there was too much going on at once? There were about twenty spaces to go, and both players had to take a turn. Assuming they could get about a five each time, they were still going to have to take about four turns each. Eight things could be happening at once. What if they lost the board and couldn't spin anymore?

Judai sighed. His shoulders slumped slightly. Manjoume's fists curled upwards. He didn't like this – and he doubly didn't like it that Judai didn't like it. Yubel being in his head or not, Manjoume still trusted Judai's judgment, especially in a place like this after what they had been through. Judai knew just as well as anyone the dangers they could face, and he might know more with Yubel's knowledge.

“Guess that's the majority,” he said. “Okay. But really, we have to go as fast as possible. Don't bother taking time to read the cards – but don't drop 'em, either, in case something goes wrong and we have to know what we're up against.”

Everyone nodded silently. Shou brought the board over to one of the empty beds. Asuka knelt down next to him, so they wouldn't have to turn the board back and forth.

“Ready?” she whispered.

Shou nodded. He started to turn the key.

“Manjoume, Ed, we should stay near the doors and windows,” Judai said. “Keep an eye out. Maybe we can keep stuff away from here until the game's over.”

Manjoume nodded sharply and strode over to one of the windows. It was incredibly eerie to see the stars floating lazily past them, closer than he had ever seen them before. They were bigger out here – even if they were still millions of light years away.

Shou hit the button. _Whirr, whirr, whirr, ding!_

The spaceship zipped forward – nine spaces. A great roll! Shou snatched the card free and the Asuka was turning the key and smacking the button. Her spaceship zoomed up only three spaces. She grabbed at her card to get it out of the way and Shou started turning the key again.

_CRASH!_

The whole dorm tilted. The board slid off of the bed with a clatter and went sliding to the other wall.

“The game!” Shou shouted.

Manjoume snatched it up before it knocked into the cabinets. He wrenched the key around the last spin.

“Shou, get over here!” Manjoume shouted.

Shou leapt to his feet.

And then a buzzing sound caught Manjoume's attention like static about to snap and Judai was lunging forward and hitting into Shou sending them both to the ground and –

The wall exploded in a blast of fire. Someone screamed. Ed grabbed Rei's arm and yanked her off the bed just as another explosion rocked the room. Through the burning hole in the wall, Manjoume could see something huge and dark sliding in front of the stars, a misshapen lump that was pointing glowing canons at them –

The third blast hit. Manjoume stumbled. The game wrenched from his fingers and went sliding for the hole in the wall.

“Stop it!” he shouted.

Kenzan lunged off the bed. He winced as his shoulder hit the ground, but he caught the game and rolled with it, sliding a few more feet across the floor towards the door.

“What is it? What did you draw?” Ed shouted.

Shou fumbled for his card.

“It says 'Zorgons attack'!” he shouted. “What's a Zorgon??”

“They're not friendly, that's for damn sure,” Manjoume said.

He lunged forward and grabbed Asuka, yanking her to the floor as another beam cut through the ceiling. He heard the thunk thunk thunk of something small and metal hitting the walls.

“They're trying to board us!” Judai shouted. “Everyone to the basement!”

He leapt up and pulled Shou to his feet. He swung the smaller boy around and threw him towards Ed. Another strike made the room rock. Ed stumbled and lost his grip on Shou and Rei. Shou tripped over his own feet. He stumbled back and hit the wall – a few inches to the right and he would have gone right through the wall!

Asuka was scrambling to her feet, her hands digging into Manjoume's wrists as she tried to pull him up. Manjoume got his footing back. He grabbed hold of Asuka's shoulders as much to steady himself as her. The ship was pulling itself closer using the lines and hooks they had shot into the walls. Judai was at the hole in the wall. His eyes glowed as he shot energy rays from his fingertips, severing the lines. More shot from the ship and lodged into place.

“Don't just stand there! Get the hell out of here!” Judai shouted. “I'll head them off!”

Manjoume nodded curtly. Hanging on tight to Asuka, he made for the door. Shou got himself pushed off the wall and Kenzan grabbed his arm. With the game board tightly beneath his arm, the dinosaur duelist pulled Shou along.

They made it to the hallway – it was way too dark in here!

“To the basement!” Manjoume shouted. “It's the deepest in – we should be safest there with Judai heading them off!”

“I can't, I can't, I can't go down there, Manjoume, I can't,” Asuka said, her fingers digging into his arms painfully. “Not again – oh God. Why is this happened?”

“Tenjoin-kun – Tenjoin-kun! It's going to be okay! Judai's – this time Judai's here, okay?” he said, shaking her a bit. “This isn't going to be like last time! No one else is going to disappear! Judai's putting himself in danger to protect us! We have to keep moving!”

Asuka looked like she was on the verge of tears, but she was making a huge effort to keep them in. She nodded, a bit frantically. She didn't protest as Manjoume hurried her after the others, down the hallway, headed for the stairs.

Rei screamed somewhere ahead of them. Manjoume and Asuka dropped each other and hurtled down the hallway.

Manjoume's throat went dry.

Standing in the wide entry hall were a trio of huge, lizard-like monsters. Saliva dripped from their horrible fangs, looking poisonous in the low light. Yellow eyes glinted at them. A forked tongue flicked between one of the alien's powerful looking jaws. There was another ship on the other side of the dorm. They were cornered.

Kenzan dropped the game, grabbed a rickety chair, and swung.

He connected with the closest alien. It screeched and stumbled. The chair mostly shattered – leaving Kenzan with only part of the seat and the legs. The second lunged at Kenzan. He made another wild swipe, forcing it backwards.

“Run! _RUN!_ ” he shouted.

Asuka surged forward, grabbed Rei, and made a break for the basement door on the other side of the hall. The third alien went after them, but Ed was faster. He scooped up one of the pieces of the broken chair and swung with practiced strokes. The wood became a sword in his hand. He jabbed right into the alien's throat. A gurgling screech broke free, but Ed was already making his second strike, stabbing right between the eyes. It dropped like a stone, tongue lolling out.

Manjoume scooped up a piece of the crumbling wall and launched it at one of the last two aliens. It bounced off of the Zorgon's head, and the thing's head whipped towards him. The distraction was enough for both Kenzan and Ed to simultaneously strike it on both sides of the throat. It gurgled with rage, stumbling backwards. It's tail flicked with anger – where was the other one?

Where was Shou??

Manjoume's eyes swept the room frantically – there!

Shou had darted past the aliens, running after the game board that was sliding across the slightly tilted room.

“Shou! Get away!” Manjoume said.

The second alien had gone after him. Shou snatched up the board. He looked up to see the other alien looming over him.

He didn't even have time to cry out with shock.

The creature sunk its teeth into his shoulder.

Shou screamed. The board dropped from his hands and continued sliding.

“ _SHOU!”_

Manjoume exploded across the room. He tackled the Zorgon with his shoulder. It let go of Shou and snapped at Manjoume. He ducked underneath it. His hands scrabbled against the ground for something, anything he could use to hit it!

“Manjoume! The other one – behind you!”

Manjoume jerked up. The alien Ed and Kenzan had been focusing on had somehow gotten its breath back and gotten away from the other two boys – saliva dripped onto Manjoume's cheek. With a shout of rage – at the alien, at this game, at freaking everything! – Manjoume just surged upwards. His head connected hard with the Zorgon's lower jaw. It hurt, but less that it had hurt the alien, he was sure. The Zorgon stumbled. Manjoume didn't let up. He could barely think, barely see – he was going to white out with how _angry_ he was at all of this!

He landed punch after wild punch against the alien's rough, scaly skin. Cuts opened on his knuckles, but he barely felt them. The thing cowered backwards, obviously unused to this sort of resistance from its prey.

And then he heard Shou scream again.

Manjoume jerked backwards, whipping his head around. At the same time, his opposing Zorgon whipped its tail up and caught Manjoume right in the stomach. All the air whooshed from his lungs in a gust and he was sent sailing against the wall. The impact sent a jarring shudder through him. He slumped to the ground against the wall, stars flaring in his vision.

“Shou!” Kenzan shouted.

Manjoume's vision cleared just enough to see one of the Zorgons dragging Shou backwards, back towards the main doors of the dorm. Shou struggled – but was weak. Blood stained his shoulder – it was a dark stain against the blue of his uniform.

“S-Shou,” he choked out.

He saw Ed lunging across the room. The other conscious alien loomed up over him, hissing. Ed struck at it, and it fell back. He chased them across the hallway, reached out for Shou's outstretched hand as he was dragged through the doors and into the waiting alien spaceship –

The alien ship door slammed down forcefully in between their hands. Ed had to jerk his hand back to avoid losing a finger.

The door was closed. With a roar, it started to pull away from the dorm.

“NO!” Ed shouted, snatching at it as though that would do something. It was too late. The ship was pulling away and taking Shou with it.

Shou was gone.

A ringing silence permeated the room for a long moment. Too long. Manjoume's head spun. No. Not Shou. No way. There was no way –

Ed let out a wordless scream of rage. He punched the doorframe and Manjoume heard something crack.

“DAMN YOU!” Kenzan screamed, his eyes flashing to their dinosaur form. “DAMN YOU! SHOU! SENPAI!”

The game lay forgotten in the corner.

Manjoume's head slumped back against the wall. He...he couldn't... his brain wouldn't function. It couldn't process the images fluttering through his head, of Shou getting dragged away, the blood seeping through his shirt, the pain in his eyes, the cracked glasses sliding down his face.

“Shou,” he whispered.

Footsteps. The pounding of someone hurtling down a hallway. Judai appeared, face flushed, breathing heavily, eyes wide.

“It left! The other ship just left – what happened? Where is everyone?”

Asuka and Rei reappeared at the top of the stairs to the basement. They were gripping hands so tightly that Manjoume could see the muscles twitching.

Nobody could answer for a moment. Judai's eyes flicked around the room, his mouth moving as though he were counting. He frowned. He did it again.

His face went white.

“Oh God no,” he said. “Shou.”

Ed slid down against the wall, shaking. Manjoume's hands trembled. He could hardly breathe. Those monsters had Shou – what would they do to him? And without him, the game...

Judai punched a wall. He screamed – the most hateful, angry sound that Manjoume had ever heard. When he ran out of breath, he slumped over, hand bracing himself against the wall, shoulder heaving with breaths.

“I – I couldn't – no, no, no, not again, I can't have failed again,” he muttered, his voice cracking on the last sentence.

Something on the floor stirred. Manjoume's blood ran cold – the third alien. The one they had knocked out. Asuka clapped a hand over her mouth and moved herself in front of Rei. The creature convulsed once, and then tried to pull itself to its feet.

Manjoume tried to pull himself up. Ed gripped his makeshift weapon and Kenzan raised the remains of the chair.

But it was Judai who moved first.

As the creature got to its feet, Judai surged forward. His hand snapped around the Zorgon's throat and shoved it against the wall. It snapped and screeched at him. Judai didn't even flinch.

“Where is your ship headed?” he said through gritted teeth.

It's tongue flicked out and caught Judai in the face. Judai's jaw tightened and he shoved the creature harder into the wall.

“ _Where is your ship going_?” he said.

The Zorgon hissed louder – was it capable of speech? Did it understand them, even? And then the hiss changed into a choking sort of sound – was it....laughing?

“You won't catch up,” it said, the words sounding thick and strange in its mouth. “You'll never catch up. They'll have your tiny little friend to eat. Won't be much to eat, won't be much. But you won't get there fast enoooough....”

Judai's face darkened.

“Where. Is. It. Headed?” he said.

It's chortle raised into a shriek of eerie laughter.

“They're going to eat him, they're going to eat him,” it said in a weird singsong voice that had no tune. “Little King's little friend is going to be dinner!”

Judai flinched.

“You –”

“Don't think we didn't know what you are,” it chortled. “Everyone knows who the King is. Everyone knows. Sensed you, didn't we? Didn't we? Heard about you doing things in Dark World. The poor Neo-Spacians were sooo sad, so sad. Couldn't reach you, could they? We sensed you when you came to Neo-Space for the first time. Wanted a taste of you, didn't we? Or at least a taste of humans.”

Its chortle was cut off by Judai tightening his grip on its throat.

“If any of your kind even _touches_ him,” Judai said, and for a split second his eyes turned the brilliant gold of the Supreme King before glowing into Yubel's eyes. “I will not rest until every single one of you is _dead_.”

It shrieked with more laughter, although it sounded choked.

“They're going to eeeaaattt hiiiimm,” it screeched.

It happened so quickly that Manjoume didn't even see it. But suddenly its screech was cut off and it was falling to the ground with a limp thump, its head twisted at an unnatural angle. Judai was breathing heavily. His hands shook.

“I...” he mumbled.

He stared at his hands as they trembled. He looked back up, his eyes back to brown, and wide with a mixture of terror and anguish.

“I....guys, I...gods, I'm...”

Kenzan dropped his chair and it made a loud crunching sound.

“Good riddance,” he snorted. “Judai, stop looking like that, like you're afraid we're going to lynch you. We were going to kill it too, you know.”

“I'm actually sorry you beat me to it,” Ed said, knuckles white where he gripped his wooden beam.

Judai's expression didn't change. Manjoume finally managed to push himself up to his feet.

“Judai,” he said softly. “You're not turning into a monster again.”

Judai's haunted eyes met Manjoume's.

“How can you be sure?” he whispered. “What if – what if this is my fault –”

Manjoume's hands tightened to fists. He wanted to punch Judai in the face – but he doubted that was going to be much of a pep talk. Later. He would punch Judai later.

“ _Dammit_ , Judai! I know because you've already been there once! You've already been there once and you've already seen what happened and you've already had your existential crisis about it and you've already broken through it and saved all of us!”

He stalked forward and grabbed Judai by the collar.

“Now you shut up and you listen to me for a second,” he said. “I trust you. Okay? I trust you to be our friend, I trust you to use Yubel's powers to get us out of this mess, I trust that you knew what you were doing when you fused yourself with her in the first place, and I damn well trust that this time, you know better than to make careless mistakes! Because you've already made them! And you grew up! And now we're going to get through this! Do you understand me or do I have to punch this into you?”

His rant stopped, leaving him breathless and panting. He and Judai stared at each other for a long time.

“Judai,” Asuka said softly. “I trust you too.”

“Me too,” Rei said. “And...and Yubel-san saved me, so I trust her too.”

“Judai, we're not afraid of you becoming a monster again,” Ed said. “We trust you.”

“And that means now you have to trust us,” Kenzan said. “Trust us to stick with you, no matter what.”

Judai glanced around at everyone, eyes wide and almost a bit glossy with water.

“Guys....” he said.

He closed his eyes. Then he carefully extracted his collar from Manjoume's grip and stepped back, rubbing at his eyes.

“Okay,” he said, opening his eyes. A new determination flared up them. “Okay. So what do we do?”

“What did Asuka's card say?” Kenzan said. “I mean, it's been long enough, another hell explosion should have happened from that, right?”

“Right, we need to neutralize that as quickly as possible before we do anything else,” Ed said.

Asuka fumbled in her pocket and pulled out the folded card. She looked white and pale as she opened it. Her expression changed then. Relaxed.

“It says, 'Your distress signal was received. Reinforcements arrive.'”

Just as she finished reading it, there was a thump against the outside wall. They all hesitated.

Then a face popped into the open doorframe. A round, blueish face with a fin sticking up from its head like a mohawk. It grinned with an incredibly wide mouth.

“Ah! Judai!” it said. “We sensed you a while ago, but had some trouble finding you! Everything all right?”

“Aqua Dolphin!” Judai said, voice colored with surprise.

Aqua Dolphin's smile widened further, if that was even possible.

“That's right! We're all here! Need a bit of help?”

The group all exchanged a glance. There was hope in that glance.

“We definitely do,” Judai said.

 


	6. Turn Five

Ed gripped the “railing” for dear life.

“Hang on,” the black cat sitting in front of him said. “You humans aren't used to traveling like us. It could make you a bit sick.”

Ed just kept his mouth shut and nodded. He was glad he did because when the Neo-Spacian ship took off, it took off like a rollercoaster dropping over the biggest hill in the park and his stomach almost shot up into his brain.

Neo-Spacian ships were among the strangest he had ever seen – whether in real life or in comic books. They looked less like spaceships and more like misshapen cocoons, webs of material with clear glass-like things in between the spaces that let the passengers see the space all around. It was incredibly disorienting, what with no seatbelts, just an outcropping of cocoon web to hang on to, and the stars completely circling them.

Luckily, Ed managed to keep his dinner in his system. He decided it would be best not to stare at the stars between his feet, though, and kind of hunched down farther. The pod was barely big enough for him and the Neo-Spacian.

Neo-Spacian Dark Panther sat primly in front of him, completely unperturbed by the fact that the ship was moving without any visible engine apparatus and not in the slighest disturbed by the sudden jarring motions it seemed to make.

Thankfully, the motions subsided and it slid into a smooth glide – so smooth that Ed could hardly tell they were moving.

“You're sure you can find the Zorgon ship?” he said.

“Oh, of course,” the Panther said. “Zorgons don't really mesh well with the rest of us, so we try to keep tabs on them. Prevent any unnecessary loss of life. Besides, they're horrible at shielding technology. They won't even sense _us_ coming in.”

The cat purred with satisfaction at this.

Ed glanced behind them – he could see the dorm floating in the distance, just a dark space against the stars.

“What about the dorm? Will you be able to get us back to it?”

“Not to worry, not to worry. Grand Mole installed a stabilizer and a tracking device just before we left. It will stay put, and we will be able to track it. Besides, there's not a thing in this dimension that Neos cannot find. He is the master of the realm, of course.”

“Is he really?” Ed said, thoughtful. So Judai's ace monster was an important figure in another dimension? Interesting. And lucky, in his own opinion.

He craned his neck around, but couldn't see the other pods with his other friends in them. They must be...what had Dark Panther called it? Shielded? He shook his head. This was like something out of a science fiction novel.

“Zorgon ship dead ahead,” Dark Panther announced.

“What? Already?”

“Oh yes. They're not very fast, Zorgon ships. And we passed through a wormhole or two.”

The cat purred deeply.

“Our technology is far more advanced than theirs. You shouldn't worry so much. It's bad for you.”

Ed sort of laughed, but he couldn't be too light-hearted.

Shou was in the hands of a race of carnivorous lizard monsters and they had absolutely no way of even knowing he was still alive.

“How do we get in?”

“Through the ship ports. Grand Mole will blast it open at Judai's signal. Then Flare Scarab and Aqua Dolphin will lead our charge in formation, we dissolve the pods, and we attack. It will be over so quickly you won't even know what happened.”

“Wait go back to the part where you said 'dissolve the pods' –”

Fire exploded somewhere ahead of them – there was no sound, but Ed imagined he could hear the echo.

“Headed in! We move quick now, all right? Stay close to me!”

The pod zipped forward into the darkness. The fire had disappeared with a quick rush as it hit the vacuum of space but there was now a glowing hole among the stars and shadows flitting about inside. The pod zoomed into the hole and alighted on the ground in a wide landing bay filled with glowing green lights.

Instantly, five other pods materialized around Ed's pod. Almost at the same moment as they became visible, they melted onto the ground and disappeared. Ed dropped to his butt and almost couldn't move for a second. And then there were Zorgons _everywhere_.

Dark Panther sprung forward with a hiss. It latched onto the first Zorgon – claws slit right into eyes and the lizard screamed. Ed scrambled to his feet.

“Everyone!” he shouted, trying to find them in the commotion.

Then a Zorgon loomed over him and he swung with the chair leg he had brought with him, for lack of a better weapon.

He had achieved a pretty high rank in fencing, and managed to take out at least two Zorgons before the weak wood shattered. He swore under his breath. He ducked under the swipe of a tail and rolled, coming up on his feet.

There were hundreds of them – and this was just the landing bay! The ship was huge! Where were they going to find Shou? And how had he just lost sight of Dark Panther?

He swore again.

Belatedly, he remembered the Duel Disk strapped to his arm. It was worth a shot.

The device activated with a glow and he snatched at the first card in the deck. Lucky draw!

“I summon Destiny Hero Plasma!!”

The holograms whirred to life – but instantly Ed knew this was no hologram. His trusted monster appeared with a rush of wind and the stark smell of blood. It let out a harsh battle cry and immediately went into battle. It struck out at the attacking monsters with precision. One Zorgon launched itself at Ed, but Plasma shot back, wings snapping open and blood-like poison shooting from the membranes – instantly killing the Zorgon.

“Thank you, Plasma,” Ed said.

It nodded at Ed and turned back to the fight.

“Nice!” Kenzan shouted from across the room. “Guys! Ed got a real monster! We can use our Duel Disks in here!”

“Hell yeah!” Rei shouted. “Mystic Dragon, appear!”

Explosions of light on all sides filled the room as monster names were called out and added to the ranks of the Neo-Spacians. Kenzan's huge electric tyrannosaur snapped up a few Zorgons with one bite. A pair of Asuka's cyber angels cut through the room with deadly strikes. Flame Wingman hurtled from the ceiling to flame one unsuspecting Zorgon. Ed ducked under the swing of one of the Zorgons and left it for Plasma to take care of. He hurtled across the room.

Kenzan and Manjoume joined him at the center of the landing bay.

“Where is everyone else?” he said.

“Still fighting,” Manjoume said. “We have to go looking for Shou!”

“Where do we start?” Kenzan said.

“We have to gather everyone first – our monsters can handle the distraction down here,” Ed said. “Manjoume, grab Rei and Asuka! I'll get Judai! Kenzan, get your dinosaur to clear us a path to that hallway on the other side! We'll regroup there!”

Kenzan's grin was positively frightening, and he whipped around to shout the request to his monster. Ed and Manjoume darted off in opposite directions. Ed wove around fighting Zorgons – he got caught in the chest with a tail but managed to keep his footing. The eerie glowing figure of Glow Moss rose up to block a hit headed for Ed's head. He nodded his thanks and angled towards Judai.

He almost stopped dead in his tracks with awe.

Judai was like a one-man army. Waves of the Zorgons focused on him and he didn't even seem to flinch. He moved with an incredible grace, ducking and sliding around every snapping jaw. Near invisible blasts of energy shot from his fingertips, sending ones that got too close sailing across the room. As Ed drew closer, he could feel a pressure starting to increase on him, like the gravity of the room had just doubled. It was almost harder to breathe – it was like the shadows deepened over here.

“Judai!” he shouted, as Plasma zoomed over to block Ed with his wings from a Zorgon. “Judai! Angle this way!”

Judai's head jerked up to see Ed – his eyes glowing like Yubel's – and he nodded curtly. Neos dropped from the sky to cover Judai's back. It didn't seem to be necessary though – Judai cut through the horde of Zorgons between him and Ed like he was a lawn mower taking out a lawn of grass.

“What are we doing?” Judai said.

“Regrouping!” Ed shouted over the commotion. “Shou's got to be farther inside – we're headed for that hallway to search!”

Judai nodded.

By unspoken agreement, they both turned their respective Heroes towards the oncoming stream of Zorgons.

Three minutes later, they were in the hallway, just past the commotion. Ed took a second to catch his breath. Rei was flushed and breathing hard, but looked too determined to lean against the wall.

Kenzan clutched at his side where he had been stabbed, but waved Asuka away when she tried to check on him.

“Shou first, then me,” he said to her. “Now where do we start?”

“I talked to Aqua Dolphin. He showed me some schematics of the Zorgon ship,” Judai said. “This hall will lead to the burning chambers where they get their power. If they're keeping him anywhere, it will be in the pits just under that where they store the ashes until they dump them. We have less than a half hour before they get too full to dump.”

“What do you mean 'if they're keeping him anywhere'?” Manjoume said suspiciously.

Judai's expression tightened.

“Zorgons aren't really known for keeping prisoners,” he said shortly. “Come on, let's go.”

Ed glanced out into the fight. After a moment's hesitation, he gestured to Plasma to come with them – they were going to need the backup, he thought.

Then he turned down the hallway and took off after the others, Plasma flying behind him.

“ _Zorgons aren't really known for keeping prisoners.”_

Ed's fists tightened. Not again. If Judai lost someone again....what would happen? No. Not this time. Ed was here from the beginning this time, and there was no way he was going to let a single person get hurt.

Their charge down the hallway wasn't unnoticed for long. Doors slid open from blank walls and a line of Zorgons appeared. Judai blasted them without even pausing.

But another set leapt over the bodies of the first.

“Cyber Tutu!” Asuka shouted.

Her monster twirled forward, striking them with her long legs. One of them was holding a large, glowing shield. It snapped it upwards to catch Cyber Tutu's next again. Instantly a horrible electric green shock exploded from the contact. Cyber Tutu screamed and disappeared as though shattering.

Asuka hit the ground hard.

“Asuka!”

“Tenjoin-kun!”

Manjoume dropped to one knee to check on her. But another Zorgon appeared from another door and this one had a huge cylinder in its arms that appeared to be glowing at the barrel –

“Manjoume, watch out!” Ed shouted. “Plasma!”

Plasma shot forward – but not quick enough. Poisonous green light exploded from the barrel of the alien gun and it was all Plasma could do to throw itself in between Manjoume and the blast. Instantly, Ed felt pain shoot through his chest. He gasped and dropped to the ground.

“Ed! Asuka!”

His head spun. Lights danced in front of his eyes and static buzzed in his head. That hurt – real pain. When the monster was destroyed on this plane, it hurt him, the summoner.

Judai's face appeared in his view, eyes wide and worried.

“Ed! Ed, can you get up? Ed!”

“A-suka,” Ed managed.

“She's fine! You have a stronger connection with Plasma than she does to Cyber Tutu, so you took more damage! You have to get up, we can't leave you here!”

“Go – get – Shou,” Ed said, gripping Judai's arm. “Go.”

“Not a freaking chance, Ed,” Kenzan said.

“Incoming! Another one with a gun!” Rei shouted. “Maiden in Love!”

Ed heard some screeching and explosions. Then someone was pulling him to his feet – Manjoume? The black-coated boy was dragging his arm over his shoulders, practically yanking him down the halls.

“Nice one, Rei!” Kenzan shouted.

Ed was still dizzy, but he could sort of see what had happened. Rei had used Maiden in Love – a brilliant move, Ed realized – and her ability to charm literally anything had gotten the gun-wielding Zorgon to start turning the weapon on its fellows.

There was a light at the end of the corridor. This was a more familiar light that the alien glow of the green energy – this was a warmer, flickering light, orange and yellow and red, like fire.

Manjoume, still dragging Ed, pulled them out into the room.

It was huge – the ceiling vaulted way up into the darkness that not even the flickering flames of the huge furnace could reach. A conveyor belt led down into the pit of flames. There were two Zorgons at each end of it, one one end they were shoveling loads of junk from massive piles onto the belt. On the other, the Zorgons were shoveling it off the belt and into the fire. They dropped their shovels at the sight of the people hurtling through the opening. They didn't have a chance to do much of anything before Manjoume's smallest Armed Dragon barreled into them and Judai's well placed energy blasts sent two of them into the fire.

“Where are the ash pits?” Asuka shouted.

“Down those grates!” Judai shouted, pointing towards the furnace. At the base of the massive thing, which took up the entire wall, were some small aeration grates set into the floor. Manjoume nodded.

“Ed, can you walk?” he said.

The dizziness was starting to clear, and Ed nodded. Manjoume gripped his shoulder, and then dropped his arm and ran to follow Judai and Asuka on the other side of the room, where they were headed for the grates. Ed ran back to the hall entrance – they might get themselves blocked in here. He could see no other exits and he wanted to be ready when the next wave came. Kenzan and Rei hurried to join him, Rei with the Maiden in Love and smitten Zorgon behind her, and Kenzan with one of his smaller dinosaurs at his side.

Ed still felt woozy, so he decided to wait until the last possible second to summon another Destiny Hero. He wasn't sure how it would effect him yet.

“Judai, we've got about ten coming towards us!” he shouted. “Pick it up!”

Then he heard Judai swear and Manjoume cry out. There was an electrical explosion. He whipped around.

There was a Zorgon looming over Manjoume and Judai with one of those electrical shields – it was huge, at least four feet taller than the ones they had seen previously. Judai was on his knees, supporting the fallen frame of Manjoume. In Judai's arms, Manjoume convulsed slightly – he must have been hit with the shield and shocked with electricity!

Asuka leaning against a wall, looking dizzy. Her lip was split and a tiny trickle of blood ran down her chin.

Judai snapped his free hand up, but the Zorgon lifted the shield.

“Go ahead, King,” it hissed. “Power like yours – should make a nice explosion on your side of the shield if you hit it.”

Judai froze.

“Knew you'd come to get your little runt,” the Zorgon hissed. “Never thought we'd be so lucky as to snag you with the game, never thought we'd be so lucky.”

“You – you mean you made Zathura?” Kenzan shouted.

The Zorgon's tongue flicked out.

“Noooo,” the Zorgon said. “But we found it, we did, we found it, and we sent it down to the Physical World. Makes a dimension hole, it does, completely unnoticeable, even to great magicians, yeeesss. Thought we might catch some things to eat. Never thought we'd catch the King.”

“If you've hurt Shou –” Judai started.

“We haven't touched the morsel! Barely a mouthful!” the Zorgon screeched. “But we knew you'd come, oh yes! When we found out we had the King, oh, we just had to get you here.”

“The hell do you want with me?”

The low hiss from the Zorgon's mouth was a horrible, grating sound.

“Kill the King, and the dimensions can't unite, they can't. Nothing to stop us from eating and burning. Nothing to stop us. The Neo-Spacian halfbreeds can't be everywhere to stop us. Neos can't be everywhere. No King, no stopping us.”

“That's not the kind of King I am – I'm not even the freaking King anymore! Let Shou go, or I swear, I'll –”

“Not that kind of King now!” the Zorgon screeched. “Just wait! Just wait! You'll see! You will be the King after the new King steps down! But we won't let it happen! We won't! There will be no Heir! No Heir! And we will have three thousand years without a King again!”

“The hell are you talking about?” Judai said desperately, obviously just as confused as Ed and everyone else felt. “There isn't another King –”

“We'll push you into the fire and you'll burn, next King! And then your friends will burn!”

The Zorgon lunged forward. Judai shoved Manjoume's still limp body out of the way – the shield connected with Judai's hands before he could do anything to stop it.

His scream ripped through the room. He went sailing several feet back. He hit the ground and just lay there, limbs flailing as the shock finished its course through him and his body tried to remember what it was like to function.

“JUDAI!” Kenzan shouted. He tried to run forward. The Zorgon level one of the guns at Kenzan and fired. The boy only barely missed getting hit as his dinosaur leapt up to take the blow for him – it didn't do much in the end as the pain of losing his monster sent Kenzan to his knees.

Ed reached for a card, but the Zorgon was pointing his weapon at him now too. Could he go fast enough?

A siren screamed across the room – and something struck the Zorgon from behind. It screamed and both the shield and weapon went flying from his hands. That thing – that shadow was...

“Rescue Roid!” Ed said in shock.

He whipped his head around. The grate on the floor had exploded from its place. Shou was clinging onto the edge, his face smeared with ash and his glasses cracked and sideways. Asuka ran over to him and grabbed his arms. She pulled him out of the grate.

The Zorgon got back to its feet. It grabbed the gun off the floor and leveled it at Shou.

Judai's rageful scream ripped across the room, and dark pressure akin to the Supreme King momentarily froze everyone in their tracks. And then energy was ripping through the Zorgon's head and it collapsed in a heap, blood and brains spilling across the floor.

Silence reigned for a brief moment.

“Shou!”

Judai hurtled across the room to where Asuka was holding on to Shou. He skidded the last few feet and dropped to his knees.

“Shou, Shou, are you okay? Oh gods, I – I'm so sorry – I –”

He kind of flailed his hands, as though he wanted to grab Shou in a hug but wasn't sure if he was allowed to.

“Aniki,” Shou muttered. That one word was enough to make Judai stop babbling. Tears ran down Shou's cheeks, smearing the ash. His shoulder looked stiff, and there was still a dark stain on his uniform. “Aniki....I...no, I'm sorry...that I didn't fight them...and I should have escaped sooner but it was so, so dark, and I lost my Duel Disk in the ashes, and I couldn't climb out even though I could hear everyone –”

He threw himself forward with a sob, clutching Judai's shirt. Judai flinched at first. And then he relaxed, and wrapped his arms tightly around Shou's shoulders.

“But I knew – I knew you'd come to get me – I never doubted that – oh, I'm so dependent – but I trusted you and I believed that you and everyone would come and I you did and I-I'm s-so g-glad...”

Judai held him a little tighter. Asuka put a hand on Shou's head, stroking it gently.

“Sh,” she said, probably as much for Judai as it was for Shou, as Judai looked incredibly shell-shocked. “It's okay. We're here. We're _all_ here this time. And we're not going to leave anyone.”

For a brief moment, they all held still.

Then Rei cried out.

“More Zorgons! They're coming from the hallway! There's no way out but through them!”

Judai shot to his feet, helping Shou up with him.

“Ed! Make sure Manjoume and Kenzan are okay! Then everyone call all your monsters back, I'm calling the Neo-Spacians to get us out of here!”

Ed darted across the room to where Manjoume was sitting up dizzily.

Kenzan was already on his knees, obviously in much better condition than Manjoume – although he was clutching at his wounded side and sweat clung to his brow. Rei ran over to him, grabbing onto his shoulders.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Good, I'm good,” Kenzan said. “Hang in there. Home stretch.”

Zorgons flooded out of the hallway.

But at the exact same time, the Neo-Spacians surged over their heads. Dark Panther landed next to Ed.

“Hang on! Pods are back online!” Dark Panther shouted.

The cocoon like material dripped out of Dark Panther's pendant and instantly the webbing and glass grew up around Ed and Dark Panther. He had to duck down quickly to fit into the small space. All around him, he saw the other Neo-Spacians appearing next to the others and forming the pods.

“This'll be a worse take off than last time!” Dark Panther shouted. “Hang on!”

Ed did.

This time, he was amazed that he was able to keep everything in his stomach.

They surged upwards with incredible speed – and then they must have vanished from view, because the other pods around them disappeared from sight. Ed's pod shot forward above the heads of the Zorgons, zipped down the hallway and shot out through the landing bay and into space.

The silence rang in Ed's ears.

“There now!” Dark Panther said. “Like I told you. Not hard at all.”

Ed leaned his head back against the pod and closed his eyes.

They were so close.

 


	7. Turn Six

They gathered in the destroyed entrance way, the remains of chairs scattered about. The Neo-Spacians had disposed of the Zorgon body that was left behind. The game itself had been kept safe inside a Neo-Spacian cocoon that Flare Scarab was now dissolving.

Kenzan groaned. His head was killing him and his side felt like it was on fire. He had overextended himself. They had gathered in a circle around the game. Manjoume was leaning against a wall, eyes half-closed. He was still recovering from that massive shock. Asuka sat beside him with the first aid kit, checking the burns on his arms from the electricity and dabbing at them with antiseptic. Ed sat with one arm resting on his knee and leaning back on the other. There was some dried blood on his forehead – Kenzan wasn't sure from what. Shou leaned against Judai, who was supporting him as though he could disappear at any second. He still looked pale. It was a wrong look for his big bro. He should always be either smiling or determined or something. Not scared and drawn and so worried looking. It was demoralizing.

Rei sat next to Kenzan. She kept looking up at him, as though worried. He tried to keep the pain out of his expression. He didn't want her to worry – or worse, blame herself for hurting him before. To reassure her, he reached his arm up and draped it over her shoulders. She smiled slightly as he rocked her into leaning against him.

The Neo-Spacians refused to leave until the game was over, and had arranged themselves in an outward facing circle around the group. It was really reassuring to have them there, seeing as they knew so much about the world.

“Okay,” Judai said. “Shou...it's all you.”

Shou nodded. His glasses were still broken, although Asuka had wiped most of the ash from his face.

He reached out, hesitated, and then pushed the button.

“Eight spaces! Nice!” Kenzan said.

Only three to go!

The card popped out and his cheer vanished. What would it be this time. Shou's hand was shaking too badly to grab it. Judai pulled it out instead and read it. Everyone let out a sigh of relief as his face relaxed.

“Navigation failure. Go back two spaces,” he said.

The spaceship moved back – five to go instead – but it was better than something homicidal.

“Asuka-san,” Rei called.

Asuka glanced up. She paused to squeeze Manjoume's hand, and then scootched herself over to the game. Turn, turn, turn, push the button. Only three spaces. Damn. She bit her lip as she reached for the card.

Her face blanched.

“'Stowaway returns',” she read.

Instantly, Rei screamed and tried to pull herself away from Kenzan.

“It'll get me, it'll get me, you have to stay away from me, just finish the game and don't let me hurt you!” she screamed.

“No! Rei, wait!” Kenzan shouted – because then Manjoume was lurching into the ground and tackling Asuka.

“Manjoume!” Judai shouted.

Shou screamed as Judai knocked Manjoume off of Judai and rolled across the ground with him. Asuka gasped for breath.

“Finish the game, Shou, finish the game!” Judai shouted.

Manjoume screeched at him with the Phantasm's guttural voice. He lashed out and caught Judai in the temple. Judai hesitated – stunned. Manjoume had the edge to knock him off and went for Rei and Kenzan. Kenzan pulled Rei into him, trying to shield her with his body. Asuka tackled Manjoume next, but her foot kicked the game and Shou went scurrying after it. Dark Panther hissed.

“No, no!” Judai shouted. “Stay out of this, Neo-Spacians, you might hurt him!”

Asuka wrestled with Manjoume but her high heeled boot cracked underneath her and she went down with a cry. Manjoume tried to latch his hands around her neck.

_DING!_

“ZATHURA!” Shou shouted triumphantly. “ _ZATHURA!_ ”

Six! He had rolled a six! The game was over!

But Manjoume didn't stop. Asuka's face was going white and her eyes were bulging. Rei wriggled from Kenzan's grip and snapped her foot upwards, catching Manjoume in the groin. He let out a gust of breath and released Asuka.

“We beat the game!” Judai shouted, angrily. _“WE BEAT THE GAME!”_

The wall shattered.

It all happened at once, everything pulled from the foundations in a rush. Kenzan's blood ran cold as he saw what was coming towards them.

A huge, gaping black hole.

“Zathura is a freaking _black hole_?” he said.

“Kenzan!” Ed shouted.

The suited boy ran forward and pulled Kenzan back. As he did so, the gravity of the hole lifted himself off his feet and he went spiraling into the air, disappearing into the black.

“ED!” Kenzan shouted.

Rei screamed. She was getting caught in the gravity too! Kenzan lunged for her, grabbing her hand – but he lost his grip on the ground and then they were both sailing into the air, the gravity pressing and squeezing and it was all he could do to pull Rei against him and squeeze his eyes shut, his last sight being that of Judai reaching helplessly for them as the dorm continued to crumble into the black hole –

And then...

There was just silence.

 

 


	8. Turn Seven

It wasn't...completely silent.

Judai opened his eyes.

He could hear nightbirds calling out, muffled through the window. The crunch of leaves from small animals, the quiet sound a house makes when it settles.

He was sitting on the floor, leaning against an old armchair that was losing most of its stuffing. But it was intact. So were the walls. There was, in fact, a thick layer of dust on everything. Just like it had been when they arrived.

“Everyone?” he said quietly.

A groan met call.

Manjoume and Asuka were sitting on the couch, as they had been at the start of the game. Rei was sitting next to Judai, her arms wrapped around his. Ed was in an armchair. Shou and Kenzan were laying on the floor on either side of the game. Shou's finger was hovering over the button. He snatched his hand away immediately.

“Is everyone okay?” Judai asked.

“Yeah.”

“Mentally or physically?”

“I'm good, actually – hey, look! My side's fixed!”

Kenzan had lifted up his shirt to find that the bandages and the wounds were gone.

Everything had been reset.

“We made it,” Shou breathed. His glasses were unbroken, now, and there wasn't a hint of ash or blood on him.

Judai felt relief flood through his system.

They were home.

Slowly, everyone stood up. Judai was the one to pick up the game.

“I'll take care of this,” he said. “Make sure no one gets a hold of it again.”

“I like that idea,” Asuka said, sighing.

They left the dorm.

It was chilly outside. They could still see the fires going in the distance and hear the distant sounds of people dueling and laughing. Had no time at all passed? Judai wondered for a minute about the Neo-Spacians – had they been okay? They belonged to that universe, after all. Had they gone into the black hole? If so, where had they ended up?

“ _They're fine. Already checked,”_ Yubel said. _“They became pieces of the game when they came to get us. So they were also reset. Of course, that means all of the Zorgons you killed were also reset. Pity.”_

Judai grimaced. He wasn't...too upset about that. He had probably gone overboard.

He sighed, closing his eyes, and enjoying the feeling of the wind brushing past him.

“Aniki?”

He opened his eyes. Shou was staring up at him.

“Aniki...I...sorry. Again,” he said. “For asking you to play.”

Judai snorted, and ruffled Shou's hair.

“Sorry? Sorry? If you hadn't, who knows what would have happened huh? In fact, don't play any suspicious games without me, okay?”

Shou laughed a little.

“How about don't play suspicious games ever?” he said.

“That's a good idea too. We might have to stop playing Duel Monsters, though.”

“At least with that we know what to expect.”

Judai felt a real smile growing on his face, a real laugh bubbling in his throat. Maybe it was just the relief. But he felt so much better – it was incredible.

“Well,” Ed said suddenly. “After this, I think a group of drunk teenagers singing on the harbor won't stop me from sleeping. I'm going to bed, everyone.”

“See you, Ed,” Judai said.

Ed smiled and nodded. It was a gesture that held a lot of meaning to it – perhaps respect, a thank you, and a promise: a promise that no matter how bad things got, even like Zathura, he was going to be there. Judai smiled, and nodded back.

“Good night, everyone,” Ed said.

“Good night.”

“G'night.”

He smiled again and headed off into the woods.

“I'm starving,” Kenzan said. “Think I'll check out the bonfires. Wanna come, Rei?”

“Sure,” Rei said. “I need to go scare some people to get over being scared myself!”

She had been clinging to his arm ever since they left the dorm, having left Judai to run and check on him as soon as she was conscious of their arrival back home. Judai couldn't help but smile. Well, maybe she wouldn't be fawning over him, anymore.

“Aniki! Talk to you later!” Kenzan said. “And I really meant that! Don't go hiding away from us again!”

“No promises,” Judai said, half-smiling.

Kenzan gave him a cross-eyed grin, and he and Rei went off in the opposite direction towards the fires.

“I need sleep,” Asuka said, rubbing her eyes. “I'll see you all later.”

“Good night, Asuka,” Shou said.

“G'night,” Judai said.

Asuka smiled at them. She took a step forward to touch Judai's arm.

“Even under the circumstances...” she said. “I'm...glad...that we got to see each other again.”

Judai smiled.

“Yeah. Me too.”

She smiled and squeezed his arm. Then she turned towards the Obelisk dorm.

“You coming, Manjoume?” she called.

“Yeah,” Manjoume said. But he hesitated. He looked Judai right in the eye. Then he, too, smiled.

“Ugh,” he said. “I can't even be mad about Yubel anymore. Tell her thanks, for helping us out. But she hasn't made up for everything yet.”

“She hears you,” Judai said. “And she says she completely understands.”

Manjoume grinned.

“As long as she's gonna be in there, then, I hope she'll find it in herself to introduce herself properly next time, then,” he said. “Cause if she's your friend now...well, she might as well be our friend too.”

He blushed then, as though he felt like he was saying something stupid.

“Oh, forget it!” he said, and turned around to run after Asuka without saying goodbye.

Shou giggled. Judai let out a little laugh, too.

“What about you?” he asked. “You gonna head back to Obelisk?”

“Probably. I don't think I have it in me for any scary stories tonight,” Shou said.

They paused for a moment. Shou took a deep breath.

“Really, though,” he said. “Don't lock yourself away from us anymore. I mean, if you can help it. I know...I know how hard this is for you and....and I want you to know....that I'll be here for you. No matter how bad it is. And I'll always believe in you.”

Judai felt everything in him relax, as though a weight lifted off his shoulders.

“Shou....” he said. “....thank you. You have no idea....thanks. I know...I'm not going to be the easiest person to be around anymore. So thanks...for sticking with me anyway.”

 _I don't know how long it will take for me to be able to open up again_ , he thought. _But...at least I know....that there are people waiting for me. People I can trust. People I can rely on...and believe in._

Shou smiled. It seemed to be enough.

“Good night, aniki.”

“Good night, Shou.”

The shorter boy turned around and ran down the path after Manjoume and Asuka.

Judai remained for a few moments. The events of the game flicked through his mind like a slideshow.

“ _There will be no Heir, and we will have three thousand years without a King again!”_

He frowned. There wasn't another King. What did the Zorgon mean? Sure, Judai didn't remember everything about his past life, but.... he had no idea what the Zorgon had meant. He was an Heir? To something? There was a King before him? And what was this about _another_ three thousand years without a King? It had been far longer than that since his last reincarnation. And it really wasn't his job, as far as he knew, to enforce laws on the dimensions. He just was kinda the tank to kill the Light of Destruction.

He stared up at the dorm, as though the gaping windows like empty eye sockets had the answers for him.

… _.darkness..._

His eyes narrowed slightly. Even now...the dorm wasn't safe, he thought. He wouldn't ever trust it. There was a malice here that he had sensed from his very first year at school, but hadn't taken seriously.

But it slept, for now.

It was a thought for another day.

He lowered his head, turned from the dorm, and headed for the Osiris dorm, the game board under his arm. He would be having a bonfire of his own tonight....

 


End file.
